DEMENTIA CARE
RELATIONSHIPS
The environment must be shared with other people who are kind, who speak in the way people understand – whatever language, or accent.
Some of those people live in the home and others, team members, work there. The difference between the two groups shouldn’t be immediately obvious. The appearance of the team members is important- uniforms create division between the people who live and work in the home.
Most of us live with family and friends rather than staff. Team members play a crucial role in the home because they must behave as friends/family, whilst at the same time knowing the people well. They must involve people when operating the systems- the meals, the medication, the household jobs, the doctor’s visits, writing care plans, and everything else that makes a home function like clockwork. This is skilled work and, when we get it right, the person with dementia feels empowered to live comfortably and freely.
THE APPROACH
The behaviour of the team members is key in orchestrating how each day plays out. Knowing the people whom they care for, just as we know one another at home, ensures that the right opportunities are provided for each person.
Creating a culture where people can flourish requires considerable work by a dedicated team. The team must be
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strong and devoted to supporting the culture. They must not be tempted to fall into the traps so oſten presented to cut corners. For example, taking control of someone’s personal care each morning, rather than letting him/her independently (with support) manage their own personal care in a dignified manner. This could include serving meals directly to people who are asked to sit and wait at a table rather than get involved with the meal preparation and serving, or someone’s washing being taken to the laundry and put in the washing machine without the person’s involvement. All these actions remove independence and gradually diminish the sense of self, which is so vital to us all in order to thrive. Once this type of more traditional care practice is adopted, the person with dementia becomes, `the patient’, `the resident’; the person being done to rather than independently doing for themselves. The person who, only days before coming to the care home, did their own washing and ironing, cut out a recipe for making a pavlova cake, ordered their vegetable seeds for the garden, or made their own cup of tea.
TEAM MEMBERS
The team needs help too. It isn’t reasonable to expect people to work in this skilled way without providing them with the correct training and support. Training should support a thriving culture as well as regular opportunities for reflection. Caring for someone with dementia is complex and each team member must have an opportunity for personal sharing, support and development.
https://meaningfulcarematters.com
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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